SUBSCRIBE:

Two media workers killed, several others injured in suicide bomb blast in Quetta

Share

(PPF/IFEX) - Two media staffers were killed and seven others were injured in a suicide attack on September 3, 2010 on a procession in Quetta, the capital city of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province. At least 64 people were killed and over 160 injured in the blast. The procession was organised by the Shiite Imamia Students' Organisation to mark Al Quds Day to express solidarity with the Palestinians.

The people participating in the procession then started firing, triggering chaos and panic. People fled or lay on the ground to avoid the gunfire. Several people, including journalists, were injured as a result of the shots.

Among those media staffers who died in the blast was Muhammad Sarwar, the driver for "Aaj News" TV channel, who was hit by the bullets and died on the spot. Aijaz Raisani, 30, a camera operator for "Samaa TV", who was injured in the blast and also received two bullet wounds, died on September 6.

Haji Muhammad Ajmal, the vice president of the Quetta Press Club (QPC), told PPF that Tareen and Shahid Mukhtar remain in critical condition. Bugti, Mastoi, Shakir, Mengal and Imran Mukhtar, who is the brother of the critically injured Shahid Mukhtar, were discharged from the hospital after treatment.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) suicide wing, Qari Hussain, said the attacks had been carried out by Taliban suicide bombers.

Balochistan home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said that the organisers of the procession had been alerted to the threat. The provincial government has now imposed a ban on all religious processions.

Bomb disposal squad officials said the device packed 15 kilograms of explosives. The impact of the blast smashed windows of a number of shops and buildings. All shopping centres and business establishments shuttered down after an angry mob set several vehicles on fire and ransacked some shops.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) condemned the suicide attack on the rally. In a statement, the PFUJ said the incident had again proven that media professionals are working in hostile conditions without any security or protection, and they easily fall prey to such attacks.

The PFUJ pointed out that the media workers were not trained nor was any protective material given to them. The PFUJ urged the government to take notice of the Quetta incident and provide compensation to the family of the deceased camera operator and injured journalists.

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi and Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, expressing concern for the people injured in the bomb blast, said the government would bear all the expenditures for the treatment of the injured media workers.

More from Pakistan

Pakistan has been slow to recognize that violence, threats and harassment faced online by journalists reflects the violence they are exposed to offline. A nationwide survey of working journalists was conducted to ascertain their level of digital insecurity, to record their experiences and the protections they desired from the journalist community, their media organizations, and the government.

Internet Landscape of Pakistan is an indigenous effort to regularly monitor and document the ongoing trends and challenges that impact digital and human rights in the country. This is the third edition in the series.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

The Pakistani government has significantly expanded its communication interception activities. This Privacy International report covers the intelligence services plan to capture all IP-traffic in Pakistan and other initiatives, pointing to gaps in the laws governing surveillance.

This report is a baseline, a rst step for encouraging further advocacy eorts on the issue. We urge both the government and the civil society to take the challenge of addressing privacy rights as a serious and urgent priority towards ensuring the civil liberties of the citizens.

IFEX publishes original and member-produced free expression news and reports. Some member content has been edited by IFEX. We invite you to contact [email protected] to request permission to reproduce or republish in whole or in part content from this site.